Carrot Craze!

Spiced Carrot Waffles with Cinnamon Cream Syrup-YUM!


I was surfing through food blogs the other night and found a recipe that I KNEW I needed to try from the Tasty Kitchen. I found the recipe at 10:15 p.m. and was so excited to make this recipe I decided to make it that night and have it ready for the kids in the morning before school.

It really was delicious and the best part about it was that it used up the bags of carrots I had in the fridge that were about to go bad. I stock up my fridge and freezer when carrots go on sale (in the hopes we will be EXTREMELY healthy and reach for a carrot instead of a cookie :) Sometimes it works, and other times (like this past week) it didn't! So..I had 3 bags of carrots I needed to use up and this recipe saved the day! The carrots and applesauce make these waffles moist with a sponge like texture. They are SUPER good, and somewhat good for you!

I had my sisters and their kids come over for breakfast and they were a hit! Some of the kids asked why there were carrots in their waffles, but once they tried them, they were hooked. We even ate a second batch of them for lunch later that day--DELIGHTFUL!

I know many of us are trying to watch our calorie intake this time of year, but the Cinnamon Cream Syrup is worth the calories. It was the perfect pair with these waffles! Enjoy!

Spiced Carrot Waffles (my adapted recipe to include more food storage items)
1 c. white flour
1/2 c. wheat flour
1/4 c. corn meal
1 T. baking powder
2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. salt
3 T. sugar
2 eggs (or egg powder and water equivalent)
1 3/4 c. water (or you could use buttermilk and leave out the powdered milk)
5 T. dry powdered milk
1 c. packed shredded carrots
1/4 c. oil (I used even less oil and substituted more applesauce-it worked great!)
1/4 c. applesauce

Stir together the wet ingredients, spices, and baking powder. Add the flour and cornmeal and mix until incorporated. For an even fluffier waffle (who has time for this??), you can separate the eggs, beat the whites to a stiff peak, and fold them into the recipe before cooking. This will make your waffles more fluffy if you have the time. Cook waffles on a hot waffle iron. Serve with Cinnamon Syrup.

Cinnamon Cream Syrup
1 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. corn syrup
1/4 c. water
dash of salt
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla
1 (12oz.) can of evaporated milk

In a saucepan, combine the first five ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Stir in milk and vanilla. Serve over pancakes, waffles or French toast.

TIP: I could tell reading through the ingredients that I would love this recipe so I chopped extra carrots to freeze for a later breakfast in a hurry. Carrots freeze GREAT for later cooked meals, so stock up when prices are low.

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Freezer Frenzie!

Most of you won't think it is hard to believe that I have three freezers. You know, the crazy food storage lady and all..why wouldn't I have three freezers :) Yes, two of them are fridge/freezers and one is a chest freezer. Before you think I am crazy and that my food will just go bad if the power goes out..I do have a generator and gasoline :)

Freezers however, are a secret to saving you $100's on your monthly grocery bill! To be able to stock up your freezer when prices are low on meat, cheese, dairy products, bread/tortillas, vegetables, fruit, etc., it can save you a lot of money on your food bill. I don't know what I would do without my freezers, especially the deep freeze. Here are a few pictures of my messy freezers (unorganized and all)..but, boy do they make me happy!!



Many people ask me what I think about Walmart meat. Well, I don't love it, that is for sure! I have had a few bad steaks and hamburger, so I have kind of sworn off Walmart meat (unless it is Tyson Chicken). I am sure all of their meat is not bad, but I have found a new favorite place to buy meat. First, Harmon's meat is always excellent quality, however it RARELY goes on sale for a great price. When it does though, I stock up my freezer--I LOVE their hand trimmed chicken breasts.

My other favorite place is Sunflower Market over by Fashion Place Mall in Murray, Utah. They have Sunflower Market's all over Arizona, Nevada, Texas, etc. Visit their website for store locations www.sfmarkets.com

Not only do they have high quality meat, it is also all natural, hormone free, no preservatives, as well. I feel better about that, whether it really matters or not. I just went to Sunflower yesterday and bought about 15 pork roasts ($1.77/lb.) and 10 packages of chicken breasts ($1.67/lb.). I spent under $90 and saved $166! My freezer is PACKED with pork and chicken!



They also have amazing sales on their produce and it is all really good quality. If you shop there on Wednesday's they honor their LAST weeks ad as well as THIS WEEKS ad prices--so, double the savings. Beware though, the store is packed on Wednesdays! I had to wait in line for the butcher to bring out more meat..it was crazy, but fun!!

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Strawberry Freezer Jam--does it get any better?

Is there anything better than homemade strawberry jam? I have been waiting for strawberries to go on sale for a $1 a pound and last night when I was at Walmart they had them all marked down to $1. Yeah!! This is not their normal price, so call your Walmart and see if they have them for this sale price this week (I shop at the Riverton Utah Walmart). Sometimes Walmart strawberries are not the best quality, but the ones I got last night were huge and beautiful!

I don't have a favorite strawberry jam recipe, I just used the freezer jam recipe off of the liquid pectin box. It turned out perfectly and I had it done before the kids went to school this morning. We had whole wheat pancakes, strawberry jam and whipping cream...it was delightful! If you have never made homemade jam before, give it a try. It really is SO simple and is very economical if you buy the fruit on sale.

Here is my favorite whole wheat pancake recipe (this is a GREAT food storage meal, just substitute 2 c. water, 6 T. dry powdered milk and 2 T. lemon juice for the 2 c. buttermilk)

Buttermilk Pancakes
2 c. buttermilk
2 eggs
4 T. oil
2 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
2 c. whole wheat flour
¾ t. salt
¾ t. soda

Beat until smooth. Pour and wait for bubbles to pop, then turn.

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Freezer Favorites

So, pretty much I freeze just about anything! If you are like me, I use red, yellow, orange, and green peppers in many of my meals. They are so great for you, but are not always on sale, and the colored peppers are not cheap (reg. price $2.49-$3 each). When they go on sale for $1 or less, stock your freezers! All you need to do is rinse them off, cut out the core and seeds, slice or keep whole, and then put in freezer bags. They will stay good in your freezer for at least 6 months. You wouldn't use these frozen peppers in salads or meals where you want them fresh tasting. They are good however in any meal that is cooked--fajitas, soups, enchiladas, french dips, pasta, on pizza, stirfrys, etc. You can use up the whole bag or just pull out as many slices as you need.


I also freeze several kinds of fruit when they go on sale. Blueberries are one of my favorite! They are a power food and are SO great for your body--filled with antioxidents. Frozen blueberries are one of my favorite snacks! You can also use them in shakes, in pancakes, jell-o's, yogurt, etc. Give them a try, you will love them!

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